Press

Amidst all the developments in the Middle East, we could not allow the verdict rendered by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) in Case 002 to go unacknowledged. Case 002 involves two surviving Khmer Rouge defendants: Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea. As the evidence against these two was overwhelming, it comes as no surprise that the defendants were convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life imprisonment—a penalty with limited meaning when it comes to octogenarian defendants.

CJA Staff Attorney Nushin Sarkarati represents Khmer Rouge victims before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. Sarkarati talked to The National Law Journal about the court’s decision to sentence two senior Khmer Rouge officials to life imprisonment.

A California woman is the first Cambodian-American to testify in a trial of former Khmer Rouge leaders, traveling to the capital city of Phnom Penh to give her testimony before a United Nations-backed tribunal.

On Tuesday, June 4, 2013, a fourth victim impact hearing was held in Case 002 at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). Since last Monday, civil parties have testified about the harm they suffered under the Democratic Kampuchea (DK) regime.

Bay Area survivors of Cambodia's genocide are dismayed with Thursday's death of a Khmer Rouge leader before he could face justice at the hands of an international tribunal for his role in the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians in the 1970s.

In a day peppered with exchanges between the defense, prosecution, and bench on appropriate evidentiary procedures, the Trial Chamber in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) heard testimony on Monday, November 5, 2012, from former Khmer Rouge foot soldier Sum Chea on events during the evacuation of Phnom Penh.

The Center for Justice and Accountability is helping Cambodian-Americans seeking a place at Khmer Rouge tribunal hearings. Under tribunal rules the victims have a right to file grievances and applications to be witnesses, even if they have fled overseas.

Distance is perhaps one barrier that prevents US-Cambodian survivors of the Khmer Rouge from participating in UN-backed trials underway in Phnom Penh. But that did not stop Chanthorn Pech or Roath Prom from becoming participants in the tribunal’s next case—002—an atrocity trial for four jailed Khmer Rouge leaders.

One of the worst genocides of the 20th century happened in Cambodia, in the 1970s. The extremist Khmer Rouge party, led by Pol Pot tried to create a rural farming society, evacuating people from their homes and jobs in urban areas to the country, where many were killed by the government, starved, or were worked to death.

A year-and-a-half ago when refugee survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime gathered in Long Beach to fill out forms about atrocities they witnessed in the mid-'70 s in Cambodia, they had no idea whether it would make a difference. On Saturday, many of them got their answer.

Many Cambodians have lived the lives of ghosts in Silicon Valley, not seen or heard from much, quietly tormented every day and every night with unbearable memories of the genocide that wiped out entire families -- parents, spouses, children, extended relatives.

On August 7, 2014, the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Phnom Penh, known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), found Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea guilty of crimes against humanity. The Court also awarded reparations to the 3,866 Civil Parties participating in the case. This is the tribunal's first judgment against senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime for atrocities committed. CJA represents 45 U.S.-based Civil Parties before the ECCC. Click here to read more.

On July 26, 2014, CJA and the Applied Social Research Institute of Cambodia (ASRIC) will hold a forum for Cambodian survivors at the Khmer Arts Center in Long Beach, California, to update them on the progress of Case 002/01.

The passing of Ieng Sary and the dismissal of Ieng Thirith for mental unfitness—and the advanced age and poor health of the remaining two Khmer Rouge defendants (Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan)—make imperative the need for an efficient and exhaustive decision on the liability of Khmer Rouge era atrocities.

Co-founder of the Khmer Rouge, Ieng Sary, died before a verdict was reached in the trial against him and two other senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). His death at the age of 87 serves as a wake-up call to the UN backed Tribunal, which has been riddled with delays since its inception.

This week’s walkout of some 250 Cambodian staff at the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal has raised new questions about the funding obligations of the international community and the Cambodian government. But tribunal observers say the court’s funding is the joint responsibility of each, as the court continues to pursue only its second trial to date.

The Supreme Court Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) rendered its decision on an immediate appeal by the Co-Prosecutors against a decision of the Trial Chamber denying, in part, to expand the scope of the first trial in Case 002.

Amidst all the developments in the Middle East, we could not allow the verdict rendered by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) in Case 002 to go unacknowledged. Case 002 involves two surviving Khmer Rouge defendants: Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea. As the evidence against these two was overwhelming, it comes as no surprise that the defendants were convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life imprisonment—a penalty with limited meaning when it comes to octogenarian defendants.

CJA Staff Attorney Nushin Sarkarati represents Khmer Rouge victims before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. Sarkarati talked to The National Law Journal about the court’s decision to sentence two senior Khmer Rouge officials to life imprisonment.

On August 7, 2014, the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Phnom Penh, known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), found Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea guilty of crimes against humanity. The Court also awarded reparations to the 3,866 Civil Parties participating in the case. This is the tribunal's first judgment against senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime for atrocities committed. CJA represents 45 U.S.-based Civil Parties before the ECCC. Click here to read more.

On July 26, 2014, CJA and the Applied Social Research Institute of Cambodia (ASRIC) will hold a forum for Cambodian survivors at the Khmer Arts Center in Long Beach, California, to update them on the progress of Case 002/01.

The passing of Ieng Sary and the dismissal of Ieng Thirith for mental unfitness—and the advanced age and poor health of the remaining two Khmer Rouge defendants (Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan)—make imperative the need for an efficient and exhaustive decision on the liability of Khmer Rouge era atrocities.